Homelessness shows we need a new society

February 2017

The homeless-led group, First They Came For The Homeless, protests San Francisco’s notorious “sit/lie”law outside of Macy’s, a big supporter of the law.PHOTO/PETER MENCHINI

We have a dying system that’s throwing millions of us to the curb and will not care for us unless we demand it. Just look at the number of our fellow human beings left to die in the cold while the “authorities” sic the police on them, taking their meager means of survival. Witness the recent birth and death of that baby in Portland whose mother was abandoned to the streets, barefoot in the snow, suffering with mental illness. No matter who is elected, this system, based on making maximum profits for the billionaire class, is structured to kick ever more of us unneeded workers out into the streets. We have strength in our unity and this is the key to overcoming the perils we will face as society continues to transition from an industrial wage-labor base to robotics, eliminating nearly 50% of the remaining jobs by 2040. What we need to grab hold of is that this same technology is also creating a world of abundance. The cause of our misery is the private ownership of the technology that produces this abundance. If that technology was publicly owned, we could guarantee everyone’s needs and no one would be homeless or hungry. Our first step toward that new society is to demand that every family be placed in a home— vacant government-owned homes or ones taken back from corporate owners. The People’s Tribune is committed to bringing you the voices of the leaders of this growing movement to create a new society. Order copies. Donate. Send articles. Visit peoplestribune.org or call 800-691-6888.